No state agency has authority over Shrub Oak International School, one of the country’s most expensive therapeutic boarding schools at about $573,200 a year. The for-profit school in New York for autistic youth opened in 2018 with grand promises: beautiful dorms, an indoor therapy pool, an equestrian stable, a restaurant-quality kitchen, sophisticated security, round-the-clock care and cutting-edge education for students with autism from around the world.
Some of those promises never materialized. There’s still no kitchen.
A ProPublica investigation — based on records from school districts, court documents and interviews with nearly 30 families and just as many workers — found accusations of possible abuse and neglect: bruises on students’ bodies, medication mix-ups, urine-soaked mattresses and deficient staffing. Many parents and workers, armed with confidential documents and photos of student injuries, described their futile efforts to get authorities to intervene.
Read our full investigation here: https://propub.li/3UNYHaa
In part 2 of our investigation, we headed to Illinois to understand how school districts in the state become the largest out-of-state feeder for Shrub Oak. Read the full story: https://propub.li/3UKd5iu
📰: Jennifer Smith Richards and Jodi S. Cohen
📸: Liz Moughon
🎥: Jose Sepulveda
–
ProPublica is an independent, nonprofit newsroom that produces investigative journalism with moral force.
+ Sign up for our weekly newsletter: http://propub.li/2oyN8DY
+ Follow us on X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/propublica
+ Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/propublica/
+ Follow us on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@propublica
+ Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/propublica
+ Follow us on Threads: https://www.threads.net/@propublica
+ Follow us on Mastodon: https://newsie.social/@ProPublica
+ Follow us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/propublica.bsky.social
+ Follow us on Post News: https://post.news/@/propublica
